Several relatively uncommon words became part of the common vocabulary over the summer, as pointed out by the word-savvy people at Merriam-Webster. They track the number of times words are typed into their search engine, which shows how often people are trying to look up the definition of each particular word. This summer, they discovered several words that gained in search frequency in response to world events, movie releases, and sporting competitions. How many of these words did you already know?

inception (in-SEHP-shun) noun
Definition: The origin or beginning of something.
Cultural Context: The Hollywood movie “Inception,” with its theme of where images and ideas actually come from, was released in July 2010.
Example: The library board has from its inception been focused on increasing the availability of materials to low-income children in the outer suburbs.

cacophony (kuh-KAW-fuh-nee) noun
Definition: Loud, discordant, annoying sounds.
Cultural Context: The vuvuzelas blown at this summer’s World Cup drew many complaints for their blaring noise.
Example: The auditorium was loud with a cacophony of voices, but when the mayor arrived, the audience immediately became quiet.

frugal (FROO-gull) adjective
Definition: Careful with money.
Cultural Context: As many world economies took a downward turn, governments began to cut spending and pay more attention to their budgets.
Example: Her frugal habits allowed her to pay off her home mortgage ten years early, and now she has enough money to be able to travel each summer.

moratorium (MOR-uh-TOR-ee-um) noun
Definition: An official delay, postponement, or ban of a specific activity.
Cultural Context: After the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, the US government put a halt to further drilling for a period of time.
Example: In order to keep the athletes in top form, the coach declared a moratorium on sodas and other high-sugar drinks, and encouraged the team members to drink fruit juice or milk.

despicable (duh-SPIH-kuh-bull) adjective
Definition: Vile, evil, without morals.
Cultural Context: The animated movie “Despicable Me” tells the story of an evil villain who learns to be a good person.
Example: Although the former president spent the rest of his life working with the poor and giving money to charity, the people could not forgive the despicable acts committed under his administration.

What was your favorite word from this summer? Leave your suggestions in the comments.

For those of you who are using the Ultimate Vocabulary software, you’ll be familiar with the Word Discover™ feature called “Word Explorer.” This tool allows you to view the word you’re studying as it relates to other words; specifically, the synonyms and antonyms for that word. Even if the target word is unfamiliar to you, it’s likely that you’ll find one or more words in the visual display of related words that you have used in the past. Seeing how these words connect will give you a better idea of what the target word means, and how it can be used in context.

In addition to giving you help in comprehension and context, synonyms and antonyms are important for other reasons. Just the fact that you know different ways to say the same thing means you have vocabulary appropriate for any occasion. While you may need to express the idea of initiative (with the meaning “being eager to do something”) in several different situations, you will reach your audience in the most effective way if you can use exactly the right word or phrase each time. Here are some examples:

In a formal management presentation: “We believe next year’s employee seminars should focus on the importance of developing individual enterprise regarding departmental goals.”

In an employee seminar: “This exercise will help you focus your personal ambition and work as a team with enthusiasm.”

In a casual conversation: “The employees certainly show a lot of get-up-and-go when they’re working on the new project.”

Add value to your vocabulary study with synonyms and antonyms, and your goals will be easy to reach!

Serendipity is often used to describe a lucky discovery of one thing that you find while you’re looking for something else entirely. For example, a person might be walking along a mountain stream, fishing for trout, and suddenly look down to see a nugget of gold. In fact, that’s more or less how the California Gold Rush started in 1848 in California – a man was building a lumber mill on the bank of a river (which was to be powered by a water wheel) and happened to find several small gold nuggets near the building site.

Several modern inventions came about by serendipity, including the nonstick coating Teflon (the inventor was trying to develop a gas to be used in refrigeration), the sugar substitute aspartame (the scientist was experimenting with anti-ulcer drugs), and the microwave oven (invented by a scientist who found a melted candy bar in his pocket after a session of working with radar waves in the laboratory).

Example: If my friend Libby hadn’t decided to get to work early, she wouldn’t have been stuck in the elevator with Charles, who was there to pack up his desk and move to his new job across the city, and they might never have met. It was pure serendipity that they got to know each other, and now they’ve been married for fourteen years.

Related words include the adjective serendipitous and the adverb serendipitously. Happenstance is a synonym sometimes used for serendipity, and the phrase a stroke of luck is also common.

Now that you’ve found us, be sure to bookmark this page and check back soon for our next word-related post!

The stereotypical male has a hard time expressing his emotions, but with the ODE’s approval of the word bromance, he might find this a bit easier. It defines bromance as a close (but not sexual) relationship between two men. A “brotherly romance” like this is depicted in the Hollywood movies “I Love You, Man” and “Superbad.”

You might want to add a turducken to your holiday menu this year. A turducken is a rather complicated dish that consists of a whole deboned chicken that has been wrapped in a whole deboned duck, which in turn has been stuffed into the body cavity of a whole deboned turkey. Often a bread-based stuffing is added inside the chicken and between the layers of each bird. Once this pile of poultry has been assembled, it’s roasted in the oven and carved (to great fanfare, no doubt) at table.

If you need a recipe, you can use your netbook to look one up on the internet. A netbook is a small computer that’s much lighter than the average laptop because it has a stripped-down system that’s designed primarily to only use web-based applications.

Most recipe sites are free, but you might have to subscribe to some of them, like the gourmet-geared site “Cook’s Illustrated.” Those recipes are protected by a paywall – a web page that you can’t get past until you pay the subscription price.

Sit back, chillax, and enjoy these new additions to your vocabulary!

Note: The “Oxford Dictionary of English” (ODE) is a one-volume listing of words that are in current use in English, and was first published in 1998; the third volume was published in August 2010. The official Oxford English Dictionary (OED), begun in 1888, was first published in multi-volume format in 1928 and is a comprehensive listing of the English language; the current publication (second edition) is 20 volumes. As of August 2010, the editors have reached the letter “R” in their review of the eventual third edition.

Example: The children ran around the yard playing all morning, but by afternoon they had succumbed to lassitude and spent the rest of the day sitting in the shade.

If you’ve been working hard on your studies, you might be feeling tired and lethargic, and ready for a break. Don’t be afraid of taking some time off now and then to refresh your mind and body. While it’s important to maintain a regular routine in order to guarantee a steady progress towards an improved and expanded vocabulary, it’s also important to balance that routine with rest and relaxation. Don’t forget that you can continue to increase your vocabulary knowledge by reading for fun – a good book enjoyed on the beach will add to your word base just like an hour-long targeted memorization drill does. Of course, we encourage you to slip a few flash cards into your beach bag as well, for a few minutes of quick review here and there!

¹ According to legend, the Romans first referred to these hot summer days as the “dog days” (dies caniculares) because of the prominence of the star Sirius, the “Dog Star” and the brightest star in the sky during this time.

² The idiomatic expression “to burn out” means to reach the end of one’s energy (again, either physical or mental) for a given period of time or a specific project.

As we pointed out in the last post, having a large and varied vocabulary allows you to choose and use words that precisely convey the information you need to communicate, in the tone and style that is most effective for each occasion. The more words you know, the more flexibility you have, and your conversations and presentations will always fit the situation.

There are other ways to add interest to your written and spoken communication, including onomatopoeia, alliteration, and metaphor. These tools are used by professional writers to improve the quality of their writing, to catch and hold the reader’s interest, and to add a rich dimension to the text by bringing in the reader’s other senses with mental imagery. Although you might associate these techniques with fiction and poetry, and think they have no place in a professional presentation, if you use them skillfully and subtly, your audience will be attracted to your speech without even realizing why.

Onomatopoeia means the use of a word that sounds like what it is describing (from the Greek roots onoma, “name,” and poieo, “to make”). For example, think about the sound that the leaves and branches of a tree make when the wind blows through them. What words come to mind? We thought of the words rustle and swish. When you say them out loud, your voice imitates the sound of the leaves brushing against each other in the breeze. Using onomatopoeia – especially in a spoken presentation – will paint an aural picture of the topic or scene you’re describing, and your audience will listen more closely.

Alliteration is a technique frequently used by poets, but it can be very effective in any text. Adept application of advanced approaches such as alliteration will accelerate you towards attaining your goal as an author. And that’s alliteration: using words in sequence that start with the same sound, to add rhythm and emphasis.

Think about the last conference you attended where multiple people were speaking. What attracted you to a specific speaker? Especially in corporate or academic settings, a good speech is an oasis of refreshment in the middle of a wasteland of dry, uninteresting presentations. That’s an example of metaphor: creating a visual image for the reader (or listener) that compares one thing to something completely different, without using the words “like” or “as” (which would make the comparison a simile). Just as a pool of cool, clear water refreshes the traveler in the desert, metaphors will provide contrast and relief in what otherwise might be a technically dense or plainly factual presentation.

What techniques do you use to spice up your speeches?

• cavalcade: a group of people riding on horseback (and their horses)
• gaggle: a group of geese (not flying)
• skein: a group of geese (flying)
• pantheon: a group of gods and/or goddesses

Other nouns that describe groups of things include agglomeration (a group of unrelated objects piled together), phalanx (a group of people standing close together), and smorgasbord (a varied group of things from which you can pick and choose).

Collective nouns are only one class of descriptive words and phrases that you can use to enliven your communications. The English language is filled with adjectives that you can use to give colorful details.

• Are you describing someone who is very sad? That person can be anguished, wretched, or sorrowful.
• Do you have a difficult task? Then it’s probably burdensome or worrisome, and you might even find it traumatic.
• Is your assistant a hard worker? They’re zealous, thorough, competent, and productive.

We’ve discussed similes before, but it’s worth repeating: a presentation that doesn’t take advantage of these descriptive phrases can be as uninteresting as a bowl of cold oatmeal. Using comparisons and similes will catch your audience’s attention, and give them another perspective on your topic. In addition, you’ll often be adding a visual element (if only an imagined one) that will engage their senses and increase their focus on what you’re saying, or what you’ve written.

In the next post, we’ll talk about some other poetic devices that you can use to create engaging and entertaining presentations, add interest to your conversations, and improve and develop your writing style.

We tried to make yesterday’s quiz similar to the types of “pick the correct definition” vocabulary tests you’ll encounter on typical examinations such as the SAT and GRE, with possible answers that sound like they might be right, or recall similar words that you are already familiar with. When you’re taking a test like this, keep in mind that the authors will write the questions in a way that deliberately tries to influence you to pick the incorrect answer. One of the best ways to avoid error is to study root words, prefixes, and suffixes. Being able to correctly identify even part of a word will help you eliminate the false answers and pick the true definition of the target word.

Here are the answers to yesterday’s quiz:

chimichurri: an herb sauce made of parsley or cilantro, garlic, and olive oil

A churro is a Mexican deep-fried pastry, the cha-cha-cha is a Cuban dance, and a capucin is a small South American monkey, but chimichurri is a traditional Argentinian sauce made by combining finely minced parsley (and/or cilantro), garlic, red pepper flakes, olive oil, and vinegar and served with grilled meat.

cicatrice: a scar

If you live in a hot climate, you’re probably familiar with the sound of the swarming cicada, but you’ll never encounter the mythical cockatrice, no matter where you live. A cicatrice is a scar, specifically a scar on a person’s body left after a wound has healed (as opposed to a scar left in a wooden floor by a sharp object, for example).

conflagration: a large uncontrolled fire

This word comes from the Latin root word flagrare, meaning “to burn.” This is also the root of the word flagrant, defined as “obvious or evident” – that is, shining (or burning) brightly. The phrase in flagrante delicto translates to “with the crime still blazing [evident]” and we use it today to mean “caught red-handed” or “caught in the act” (of doing something illegal or wrong).

cartouche: an oval or oblong carving decorated with scrollwork

This word may sound like a sneeze, but it has nothing to do with sinuses. A cartouche is an frame, usually made of or decorated with scrollwork, that contains text or other images inside it. It can be drawn or etched on a surface, or raised and carved above the surface. Click here to see some examples.

crepuscular: dimly lit, like at twilight

Crepuscular is one of those words that sounds like it’s describing something ugly or horrible. Actually, it means that lovely blue-grey dimness that makes warm summer evenings so enjoyable to be out in. In French, the word for “twilight” is le crépuscule.

coterie: a group of people of a similar social standing

A dovecote is where you keep a group of birds, but a coterie is a group of people of the same (usually high) status, or who are together because they have the same goals or purpose.

clowder: a group of cats

This last word is one that’s just fun to know. While a group of cats might enjoy eating from a large dish of fish chowder, they’re described as a clowder. Other interesting terms for groups of animals include an unkindness of ravens, a muster of peacocks, and a shrewdness of apes.

chimichurri

a) an herb sauce made of parsley or cilantro, garlic, and olive oil
b) a dance related to flamenco
c) a deep-fried pastry covered with powdered sugar
d) a small monkey found in Paraguay

cicatrice

a) a row of columns on an Egyptian temple
b) a scar
c) a mythological creature, half rooster and half lizard
d) a winged insect that tends to fly in large swarms

conflagration

a) getting caught in an act of adultery
b) a wild exaggeration
c) a large uncontrolled fire
d) taking part in a parade

cartouche

a) an oval or oblong carving decorated with scrollwork
b) an open-air marketplace
c) an infection of the sinuses
d) a Moroccan “bicycle taxi”

crepuscular

a) covered in a red rash
b) strong and powerful
c) slimy
d) dimly lit, like at twilight

coterie

a) a cage for doves or pigeons
b) a group of people of a similar social standing
c) altering or tailoring clothes
d) whitewash

clowder

a) a thick soup containing fish or seafood
b) a daisy-like perennial found in high mountain meadows
c) a group of cats
d) using lemon juice to curdle milk

Come back tomorrow for the answers.

Example: The witness tried to hide the truth, but the attorney’s perspicacious questions forced him to admit to his role in the bank robbery.

A related but less common word, perspicuous, means “obvious or apparent.” While perspicacious has the meaning of “seeing what is hidden,” perspicuous has the meaning “not hidden at all.” Even though somewhat reversed, the underlying sense from the root specere of “sight” is still evident.

Learning root words is very useful, because it helps you quickly get a sense of the probable definition of a new word. You can look at the word root(s), as well as any prefix or suffix, and piece together a translation for the word as a whole. Now that you know that the Latin root word specere means “sight,” how would you define these words?

• circumspect
• speculation
• conspicuous

Circumspect has two Latin roots, circum- (“around”) and specere (“to look”). Someone who is circumspect acts carefully after looking at, or considering, the situation.

The original meaning of speculation is “to look at or consider,” with the sense that a person is thinking about a topic seriously. The word is also used now to mean less than serious consideration; the phrase “idle speculation” refers to more random thought, or even guessing, about something.

Something that is conspicuous is very visible; the Latin prefix con- (or com-) means “together with” and is used in this case to show intensity or emphasis. A modern translation might be “visible squared.”

As you can see, being familiar with root words helps you get right down to the fundamental blocks making up a vocabulary word to quickly get a clear idea of what that word actually means. You might even say that learning word roots will help you be more perspicacious.